Faith Formation: Matthew The Gospel of God With Us November 15, 2024

The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, "Sir, we remember what that imposter said while he was alive, 'After three days I will rise again.' Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise, his disciples may go and steal him away and tell the people, 'He has been raised from the dead,' and the last deception will be worse than the first.'" Pilate said to them, "You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it secure as you can." So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone. Matthew 27:62-66

A large amount of skepticism and doubt has surrounded the story of Jesus and the resurrection. To some miracles, God, the whole religious worldview is doubtful or dismissed. To some the nature of ancient literature often associated with mythology and ever more fantastic legends makes these stories suspect. Others refer to the seeming lack of confirmation for the stories told in other sources. Jesus barely got mentioned by other "historians" of the ancient world, though barely does not mean never. Others have tried to provide proofs of the story to confirm that it really happened. The early church turned to the scriptures of the Torah, Prophets and Psalms to draw references to the events of Jesus life, death and resurrection. Something dramatic happened such that a group of illiterate peasants from Galilee turned "the world upside down." Something dramatic happened to Saul of Tarsus such that he changed from being a persecutor of the faith to being one of its earliest witnesses. All this did not come from no where. This came from somewhere. Granted not everything went smoothly or purely as the church grew and came to dominate so much of the world. It was and has always been made up of fallible leaders and sinners.

Matthew's community heard the rumors and suspicions that this was all a sham, a fable, or a deception. Luke reported that on the morning of the resurrection even Jesus closest followers responded to the women's report of the resurrection with derision. "... these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them." Luke 24:11 Matthew, uniquely among the Gospel writers, responded by telling this story before the resurrection and another after it to address the skepticism and doubt.

The request of the chief priests and Pharisees took place on Saturday, the Sabbath, the day after Jesus was lain in the tomb, or as Matthew awkwardly put it, "after the day of Preparation." Preparation for what is unclear, though it might refer to the day of rest on which no work was to be done. That would be a little troublesome or ironic since among the things the Pharisees accused Jesus of was doing work on the Sabbath, which was the very thing they were doing in going to Pilate.

The gathering of the chief priests and Pharisees is odd at this point as well. Throughout the passion narrative the chief priests have been grouped with the elders of the people. The Pharisees last played a role in the story much earlier in the week after Jesus told some parables in the Temple. "When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them." Matthew 21:45 When the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE and the offices of the Temple no longer functioned, did Matthew need to include the Pharisees back into the picture as they evolved into leadership via Rabbinic Judaism.

During the trial before the Sanhedrin and before Pilate the two accusations made against Jesus concerned a statement about destroying the Temple and Jesus identity as Messiah. The accusation brought to Pilate reflects the new situation of the church in its conflicts with Judaism. The live question was less Jesus identity or the fate of the Temple, but the question whether Jesus rose from the dead. "Sir, we remember what that imposter said while he was still alive, 'After three days I will rise again." Jesus told his disciples that, but there is no indication that the Pharisees or chief priests were aware of it. While the chief priests and Sadducees would have denied the very idea of resurrection, the Pharisees believed in it, just not in connection with Jesus. They were not concerned so much with Jesus rising from the dead, but rather with what his followers might do. "Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away and tell the people, 'He has been raised from the dead.'" After three days the chief priests and Pharisees could be sure he was indeed dead past any hope of life. Considering the disciples fears and their disappearance from the events of these days it was hardly likely they would summon the courage to go to the tomb and risk being caught. Even so, they were taking no chances lest the claim of resurrection would have deeper consequences than Jesus claims during his life and teachings that he was sent from God.

Pilate had enough of this religious scuffle. "You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it secure as you can." It's unclear whether Pilate provided guards from his own command, or whether he gave permission to the Jewish authorities to take on the task. "...make it as secure as you can." On the third day the security of death and the human intention to keep death sealed in the tomb would prove futile.

Keep the faith. Say your prayers. Love like Jesus.

Pastor Tim Bauer